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2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs (predictions and discussions)

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Mark2010, Apr 14, 2014.

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Which team will win the 2014 Stanley Cup?

  1. Anaheim Ducks

    2 vote(s)
    5.7%
  2. Boston Bruins

    4 vote(s)
    11.4%
  3. Chicago Blackhawks

    6 vote(s)
    17.1%
  4. Colorado Avalanche

    6 vote(s)
    17.1%
  5. Columbus Blue Jackets

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  6. Dallas Stars

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. Detroit Red Wings

    2 vote(s)
    5.7%
  8. Los Angeles Kings

    7 vote(s)
    20.0%
  9. Minnesota Wild

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  10. Montreal Canadiens

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  11. New York Rangers

    1 vote(s)
    2.9%
  12. Philadelphia Flyers

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  13. Pittsburgh Penguins

    2 vote(s)
    5.7%
  14. San Jose Sharks

    2 vote(s)
    5.7%
  15. St. Louis Blues

    1 vote(s)
    2.9%
  16. Tampa Bay Lightning

    2 vote(s)
    5.7%
  1. Liut

    Liut Well-Known Member

    Good pull, Oduya. I'll add Sharp to the overall underwhelming performance list.

    Your points taken.
     
  2. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    I watched Leddy lose his stick and pick it back up and I thought, good thing he was able to do that - dangerous when the other team has the puck in your end and one of your defencemen is without a stick. :-\
     
  3. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    2-3-2 makes more sense when it's east coast vs. west coast, though. It's not just the players. It's all the support personnel, media, executives..... adds up to a lot of bodies.
     
  4. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    Good grief, it's not like Chicago had a bad year. Won the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup in 2013, short offseason, Olympic play for a lot of the roster and still win two series and get to Game 7 of the Conference Finals. One bounce here or there and they might be the first repeat champion since 1998.

    There's just a ton of parity in the league right now. Out of 14 playoff series, 12 of them went at least six games. LA's damn good, but they're a bit lucky, too.

    I think LA is a better overall team than New York, but Henrik Lundqvist is the great equalizer. If he can steal a game or two --- which is certainly possible --- the Rangers can win because Tortorella won't be around to screw it up.
     
  5. JC

    JC Well-Known Member

    Did anybody remotely say Chicago had a bad year?

    They are arguably the best team in hockey, the debate was about goaltending, try to keep up Mark.

    Jesus, I just used an OOPism.
     
  6. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    I actually agree with you on Crawford. Good, good enough to win with, probably not great.
     
  7. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Neither goalie in the Western final was outstanding. Better than average. And teams are playing average goalies way too much and long term deals have been mostly disastrous

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/nhl-playoffs-a-showcase-for-bad-goalie-contracts/article18949384/

    Corey Crawford had an .878 save percentage, allowing 26 goals in seven games.

    Jonathan Quick wasn’t much better at .889 and 23 against, but at least his team advanced to the final and will play for another championship.


    Yes, LA is the prohibitive favourite but Lundqvist, arguably the best goalie in the league, could win it for the Rangers.
     
  8. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    I think the Rangers have a shot, due to Lundqvist's ability as much as anything. Who knows, Rick Nash might even wake up one of these days.
     
  9. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    Is Rick DiPietro still under contract? Didn't the Islanders give him like a 15-year deal last decade? I though that was nuts.
     
  10. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Don't you know how to look ANYTHING up? Mr. Google is pretty easy

    Took me 3 seconds to find this:

    http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=676316

    The Islanders used a compliance buyout Wednesday to remove the final eight years of the goalie's deal from the club's salary cap.

    New York will pay the 31-year-old DiPietro $1.5 million for each of the next 16 years — double the years left on his original 15-year pact with the Islanders.
     
  11. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    Geez, what a waste of money.
     
  12. Liut

    Liut Well-Known Member

    Could be wrong but if the Rangers apply their skating and passing speed in the defensive zone intelligently, New York could cause Los Angeles some problems.
     
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